Prodigy
by aeria-liko
Summary: The two people, as we observe them, are young in body, but quite aged in mind, their hearts almost dead. Dead, quite close, but one thing keeps these two alive, keeps them breathing this new air.
1. Default Chapter

Prodigy

Prologue: the beginning.

Disclaimer: I got the climax of this story from an amazing book called legends of the fall, and hopefully you guys out there wont get the book and ruin this whole point of this story I'm creating. Just read without touching the other book, and tell me what you think of the choice. I don't own legends of the fall and inuyasha or any of their characters, but I will change character personalities as I see fit for the reader's entertainment.

It was the season of the cherry blossom, their soft petals dancing with the whispering wind of the earth. The scent of a beginning rides with the air, a scent of earth, of a new birth, deeply like that of rich soil or the fertility of corn.

The sun's rays warm the backs of two figures facing one another under the cherry tree. At their feet is a stone marker, soil invading the crevices of the engraved name and yet the age of the marker being that of very resent. A small mound of soil is before the marker, springs of grass struggling through the earth.

The two people, as we observe them, are young in body, but quite aged in mind, their hearts almost dead. Dead, quite close, but one thing keeps these two alive, keeps them breathing this new air. We follow their line of sight, being that of the marker, their eyes reflecting memories as if the tombstone itself is the beholder or creator of the past.

We, observers of these two young people, are curious as to the mood and the creation of these memories that cloud their eyes in sadness, heartache, tragedy. The woman looks downward in peace, her bright cerulean eyes reflecting a pain, but understanding as well, as if she knew that these memories took place for a reason. A hint of the death of revenge breathes over the face of the man, as if a blanket of silk that has wrinkled and smoothed itself out. He is the one we are most interested in, for this face is void of emotion, and yet within an animal sleeps, perhaps for the rest of his life. The memories initiated by the marker tells the life of this animal, the man being its puppet, but now, peace, an utter satisfaction.

We step closer to this hauntingly handsome man, his amber eyes deep as the ocean, bottomless almost to the point where we feel like we could drown. His persona screams self control, but we know, oh do we know that is only a mask. We wonder- what has happened to this man- what has made this man calm the beast within?

We, the listeners the observers of these two people, feel the urge to look into these two pasts, their fates intwined with the other. Perhaps we shall learn something from these two, perhaps we could experience this peace after we know the memories of these two.

Today is May 10, 1945.

This story begins four years earlier, on the same date.

sorry so short, but i have the heart of hold, mostly bercuase i feel like this story im writing now should take the place of thast one aka- im rewriting the heart entirely to where it will come a lot slower and there will be a lot more foreshadowing aka a hell of a lot better.

so if yuo like this intro better that the heart, email me, and ill go on.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: the visual fallacy

Disclaimer: boo hoo. I don't own inuyasha.

Pain. It rippled through him, white hot, rushing a speed of hate to his heart, a hate for everything around him, his father, brother, doctors, fate, destiny…

Memories. Electricity cursed his brain, diverse recollections of childhood became known to him like the electrodes severing both sides of his temples, like the leather shackles on his wrists and ankles cutting deep into his young 5 year old skin as he struggled against the restraints in vain. Childhood should not be here, not be here on this table with a humming hellish machine that emitted this pain into his temples, should not consist of wearing a white robe unwashed for weeks at a time, not of a room that smelled like urine and wine with a bed that made the boy's skin itch and erupt in sores. Childhood- what childhood?

The electricity began to fade and with it the memory that the doctors wanted him to cease remembering. Her hair, what did it smell like, was it lilacs or sandalwood? What color were her eyes, blue or brown; her hair, perhaps black like the hours of darkness? What happened that night where the aroma of fertility mixed with the coppery taste of blood? Her scream, her tears…

His body shook with a sickening rapidity even after the damned machine ceased its humming; eyes tried to keep shut but the tears continued to stream down his fiery cheeks, burning skin reached his nostrils confirming his mystified senses…

_All is well, and…_

"The last treatment is done Master Sesshoumaru. All is well…"

_And all is well…_

Sapphire eyes of umber opened, revealing to the boy a man with white hair dressed like a doctor, holding a syringe with clear bubbly liquid in his gloved hand. A stranger he had not seen in one year, a stranger which from this moment had taught him the true sensation and full power of hatred.

And from the boy's lips uttered a question that would confuse him for years to come.

"…father, why?..."

_And all matters of things will be well._

The man's back tightened with memory as his eyes shot open, causing his upper body to jerk upward painfully in his silk bed, his chest heaving in gasps of the perfumed air let in by the opened window beside him. He took a quick scan of the dormitory room, its sparseness of décor becoming annoyingly acknowledged to him. The room indeed looked like the inhabitant was exceedingly rich; however it revealed to us, the viewers, the lack of personality and the feeling as if this room occupied no human being whatsoever. Not a grain of dust or a peek of a sock stuck out from the mahogany drawers of the dresser, even the covers of the bed were unwrinkled with the man underneath. He seemed to live to disappear, the man appeared to want to be ignored from the race of man, even to be ignored from himself (AN: if that was possible).

As if the man could be ignored; at the sight of him we are struck by his masculine beauty- the sharpness of his jaw line, the prominence of his shaped nose, a clear brow... and yet his most oddest and inhuman qualities were his satin hair that now cascaded down his straight and muscled back like white, pure ribbons, and most importantly of all-

His eyes.

Observe these eyes well, my witnesses, for these are not like any we have seen, and it would be just to dedicate myself to describing them. These eyes are of the deepest shade of a dying sunset before the last rays blessed the water of a still ocean, the light dancing upon the waves in shades of gold and yellow and creams. Looking into these orbs we are reminded of the mixing of these colors: a deep orange, even a light red, but most assuredly an inexpressible gold. Here on the bed the man shone dull orbs in a tried and bored expression upon his hands. They flexed and stretched with a dangerous power that the man dutifully ignored as we notice the awe of their strength.

He looked up from his hands and sighed, sounding much like an annoyed purr.

"Fucking delusion." He murmured in a predatorily deep growl.

It is safe to assume, my audience, that this man's name is most certainly and quite nobly Nishi Sesshoumaru.

The man then swung his legs over the side of the king bed and stood up, his large, naked, lean, and muscled form coming as a surprise. This Sesshoumaru does not seem to care whatsoever that his well- endowed loins are in full view of whoever takes a look out their window from across the courtyard.

At the sight of this, we know it is our time to leave (AN: sadly… I must), and so we depart by way of the window, viewing the courtyard of the dormitory below with its fragrant flowers and most importantly, a beautiful old cherry blossom tree.

We pass over to the other side of the large stoned building where yet another window is open directly across from Sesshoumaru.

As we enter the dorm, we notice the overall clutter of teddy bears, mounds of blankets, books of St. Augustine and the short stories of Dostoevsky and other authors scattered under and within the confines of the small bed, the bed stand lies hidden beneath a pile of winkled letters held down by a jar of dried flowers- probably from the garden of the courtyard- and an opened book by a new author named George Orwell lies dog-eared and browned, most notably owned by a most untidy person. The dresser seems to have taken a life of its own- instead of clothes for the five large drawers there are vinyl records out of their sleeves shoved within the first, the second consists of flash cards with mathematical theorems scribbled on and a Precalc book mauled with a big red X on the cover with the word: DIE, the third shut tight with something smelly within, and the next two drawers completely missing.

Hopefully we have the idea that this person does not certainly care about the state of their commode.

Something shifts under the mound of blankets on the bed and we are nervously aware that in this state of disarray this room could certainly house several creatures. Alas, a black haired head appears at the bottom of the bed, the face of the beholder hidden under the raven tresses. A much muffled groan is audible and then the form stills, a soft snoring begins. Stillness reigns once again, the only movement is the soft swaying of the white curtains from the only window as a breeze drifts within the room.

Atop the dresser is a silver framed black and white picture of a family of four, the only object undisturbed, despite the amount of fingerprints on the sides; a grandfather with a smile that exclaimed his senior rights to make everything he says true, a mother with a soft but quite weathered smile lined with unknown worries, a little boy with not a care in the world and looks like he'd rather be practicing with his kendo stick, and a young girl.

Is this the occupier of this room? If so, let's take a closer look.

With raven hair that was quite ungroomed, the tresses reached the lower back of a quite curvy figure that gave us a hint of the woman underneath, but as we gaze upon her façade, we still see the youthful cheer that embraced it. This face seemed to have the power to reveal every emotion within the girl's mind, and now as we examine the picture, we can see this girl reflecting outward a calm and a peace to her other family, and because of it, the others around look just as passive. She looks as if her time here on earth has not reached its point of trials, and yet… we also have this feeling that the girl has been waiting for something, a change, something that may alter everything around her with a soft sense of anticipation.

Delicately… the door of the messy dorm opened.

A sly looking red-haired young boy appeared and entered cautiously, shutting the door behind him with a soft click, his eyes widened with excitement. An unstoppable giggle escaped from his lips and both his hands slapped over them when the form on the bed shifted once again. He spotted the raven head with his unusually large brown mischievous eyes and tip toed over, his hands still caging his mouth. When he was directly over the form, he bowed down with his hands behind his back.

"… Kagome?" The boy whispered. A snore answers him, causing him to stifle yet another giggle.

Suddenly, a click from the door behind him caused the boy whirl around, the hair on his neck on end and his heart beating profusely. Thankfully the boy breathed a sigh of relief when he recognized the new visitor.

"She isn't awake is she, Shippo?" She mouthed softly.

"Sango…" Shippo sniggered quietly. "Nuppers!"

The girl smiled, and unveiled a little cupcake with a single white candle on top from behind her back. The strawberry icing was sloppily smoothed on and was threatening to clump off if it was not level. Shippo looked at the cake with longing, but smiled knowing full well that he'd rather enjoy seeing… the thing… eat it instead.

"Ready?" They both mouthed to each other. Sango stepped closer to the bed beside the boy and they both took a deep breath. "…One… twoooo…. Three!"

"HAPPPPPPPPY BIRTHHHHHHH-DAY KAGOMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

The figure snapped up, hair mussed and tangled, and jumped out of bed in a mess of tangled blankets and fluttering pages, but only succeeded in falling flat faced on the floor. Her leg hit the bed stand painfully causing the Orwell book and the letters to plummet to the floor as the stand toppled and the jar of dried flowers defeated gravity and flew up, and up, and up… only to conveniently fall right on the figure's head.

The two visitors looked down at the body on the floor with awed surprise.

"Ugggggghhhhh…" moaned… the thing.

The boy named Shippo and the girl Sango looked at each other, and burst out laughing.

The head looked up from the floor, and one visible sapphire eye glanced at the two with a tired irritation. They both had begun to kneel down to the floor, still laughing and clutching their stomachs, joined the disturbed form on the floor.

"… sorry… hehe… that was just… hahaaa" the girl snorted.

"… too perfect…" Shippo finished with a cackle.

The eye glanced down to the hand holding the cupcake and painfully eased herself upright.

"You guys…" the figure smiled as she moved the mass of hair away from her face, letting the two calm themselves, wiping tears from their eyes. The shock of the whole incident had left Kagome, for everyday something along those lines had happened to her one way or the other. She was glad to have gotten it over with already, even as she massaged the back of her head. "You really didn't have to…"

"We had.. hehe… to.." The boy snickered.

"Well, frankly…" the raven haired girl still wrapped in blankets rubbed her head. "I… um… sorta forgot."

The two visitors abruptly stopped laughing.

The mussed girl looked at the two innocently. "What? I mean, you know… with junior year coming up… and mom… and the tournament…"

"the… war." Sango finished.

"Yeah… that." The three sat in nervous silence, recalling the past month of April where the news reporters on the radio had confessed that the Soviets and the Japanese had signed a neutrality pact, the Germans had captured Athens and Thessalonica and Sollum…

"Well!" Shippo exclaimed anxiously. "Right now, let's remember that it's Kagome's 17th birthday today, and just try to… forget… about other things. Huh? Am I right?"

The two girls smiled at their younger childhood friend, and silently agreed.

"Cupcake?"

Kagome looked down at hand of Sango, the delicacy somewhat melted and quite eccentric. She recalled that sugar, flour, and the aluminum foil was rationed at this time in the war, and was particularly hard to obtain. She felt a sincere happiness for the friends she had around her at that moment, and smiled. Who were the ones that would go down to the cooks in the cafeteria to make a special request, one that involved using the school's rations- going as far as to pay for those provisions used- just for a cupcake? Who were the ones that risked punishment for creating havoc so early in the morning, not even caring if the rest of the school woke just as long as they could give her a special little treat?

Familiar warmth filled the heart of the disheveled girl on the floor of a messy room, sitting across from her friends. And yet as she memorized each of their faces, she began to have that familiar feeling again, that this may be the last time they'd see each other, that some bomb may very well hit London that day and she'd never see either one ever again. The dream replayed in her head once again…

"Promise me something… both of you."

The two tilted their heads with a questioning in their eyes.

"Whatever happens, to either one of us… promise that… we'll always find one another? Or try to?"

"What…?"

"After this war, I wanna know you guys are safe. Just promise, okay?"

Both shook their heads with worried expressions.

"Good. Then let's share this beautiful cake."

As she split the cake in threes with her fingers cute clumsily, the aura of her worry seeped outward to her surroundings, as if she knew that today would be the day of reckoning. She handed the pieces to her friends and watched them eat with delight as she took the tinfoil and wrapped hers.

"Man," Shippo exclaimed as he licked his fingers. "those cooks in the café really do know how to cook."

"If only they did this everyday for our meals. Then maybe they wouldn't complain about so many of us being 'so bloody skinny!'" Sango laughed, her minds eye imagining the jolly and plump cooks in the kitchen that morning, their faces flushed and glad to do whatever for Kagome. '…that sweet girl's birthday!...' 'why, yes of course we'll make something, it'll be little but it'll be quite something…' 'tell that girl to drink her herbal tea, she's looking quite uneasy lately…' 'oh bloody hell the oven!' Sango smiled as she savored the icing on her fingers, and glance upon her best friend.

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard in the hall.

"Guys!" Kagome snapped out of her stupor and whispered "You have to go! It's probably the dean, and Shippo- you'll get in biggg trouble if they find you in the girl's dorm!"

Their little party over the three jumped up and ran quietly to the door. Kagome looked back at her clock: 6:04, thirty minutes before students are allowed to roam the halls. With thirty minutes, the most punishment they'd get was two detentions, but she was determined to get them out without any incident.

Kagome opened the door softly and poked her head out, and looked down the hall. At the far right, an old woman strolled with her chin up, her back facing them.

"It's Miss Strudel…"

"Can we go?" mouthed Sango.

The woman began to reach the corner of the hall.

"Leave…." Kagome breathed. "….now!"

The two bolted out the door and ran softly down the hall; Sango reached her room a couple of doors down, while Shippo flew. The woman was almost at the corner, and Kagome looked over to the boy's flaming red hair just as he was reaching the opposite corner, and thankfully turned. Kagome quickly shut her door with a soft click, just as the woman turned completely around to walk down the hallway once again, one round down, three more to go.

Kagome let out a long held breath, and closed her eyes.

Authors notes: excuse me, but I find this substantially hilarious- I'm listening to oldies while writing this (blackbird, American pie, piano man), and its making me invariably happy, which is unusual, cause this chapter is very… ahem… sad and depressing, maybe only at Sesshoumaru's part. So if you come across a sentence or two that don't fit in with the mood of the rest of the chapter, tell me- cause I really don't want to look like an idiot.

And sorry about Miss Strudel. I couldn't think of a better name, and so I looked down at my hand, and alas! What other perfect name could fit both a pastry and a person! Ha!

So sorry about the delay of updates, but im supposed to go to this festival soon, and we've been going crazy about it- 27 people coming along with us. Terribly terribly sorry, a fair punishment would be not to give any reviews.

sniffle

If you really wanna make me suffer.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: foreshadowing secrets

Disclaimer: inuyasha + me never own

Breathe. In and out, my audience, and remember. Retain this information: Kagome's fear for her friends, Sesshoumaru's unusual dreams, for they will be pushed to the back of both of the youths' minds for the rest of the day with justified reasons, as it will for us as well. Both beings go through their everyday tasks, bathing and combing their equally long hair, collecting the necessary books for the school day- Kagome finding her student handbooks under the bathroom sink, and Sesshoumaru's tutoring guides in his leather bag hanging from the closet beside his dorm door; the same in all their actions but as we have seen, quite different, almost to where we could label the two as opposites. The content that whips around in both of their heads is surprisingly singular:

'Oh the garden is beautiful …'

'…cut down that atrocious tree in two weeks…'

And so with a courtyard separating them, they both go out the door of their dorm room, precisely at the same time.

We whip down from outside the courtyard to the first floor of the large boarding school, Providence Boarding to be exact, and we feel a strange pull toward the back of the school past the tree Sesshoumaru was speaking so ill of, where scents of scones and pastries delight the air, as well as oatmeal and warm, strong teas welcome us. As we enter through an open window, we are met with a very enormous dining hall with high ceilings as students are steadily entering through a domed entranceway. The whole feel of the hall is of richness and comfort- large round wooden tables scattered throughout are accompanied by cushioned wood seats, a small table at the entranceway holds stacks of newspapers for teachers to worry over the state of the world as well as magazines for those who would like to forget.

At the opposite of the entranceway down the hall we hear yelling and moans, and soon a crowd gathers. A young man was leaning over a crouched form on the floor, his tied back white hair- quite similar to one Sesshoumaru- was undone from the nape of his neck, and his face resembled a tomato.

"…want me to make that more clear, asshole!" the young man yelled at the other youth, who was now clutching his stomach on the floor and painfully moaning. "Do you think I care about what Kik-" he growled forcefully in great frustration "and my fuckin asshole broth- I know he's here I don't need you to tell me what's going on-!"

Another black haired man with a strange medallion necklace came up behind the angry man and touched his shoulder, wary of the students watching as well as the threat of teachers nearby. "Inuyasha… I think you need some food."

"Fuck-off, Miroku… this 'old friend' thinks he's good enough to educate me on…"

"Enough, Inuyasha.." At the mentioning of the name, Miroku squeezed Inuyasha's shoulder forcefully, warning him of others listening. "You don't want any more rumors do you…?" he murmured.

Inuyasha looked up at the surrounding students, his eyes finally becoming unshieldedto how many people were actually watching, and shrugged off Miroku's hand as he stomped off. After walking a few feet toward the entranceway, he recollected himself and turned the other way, feeling quite stupid because the food line was on the other side of the dining room. Miroku smirked.

'He will never learn will he?' he thought.

People began to disperse, the fight obviously over, even though the boy was still on the ground trying to regain his breath. Miroku stepped toward the boy still clutching his stomach, took hold of one arm, and helped him to his feet.

"I'm terribly sorry for my friend's attitude; Inuyasha really isn't a morning person."

"Yeah, well," the boy coughed forcefully. "I was only trying to tell him the truth. And this is what I get for it." The boy, his dark short hair quite mussed, stood straight up and tried with difficulty to smooth out the wrinkles on his school uniform.

"Elijah, I guess it was worse for him to hear it from you, because of your past relationship with Kik-"

"It doesn't matter, he should know I was trying to help. But now I've learned my lesson…" Still obviously in pain, the boy walked off, his head still held high in an attempt to regain his dignity.

Miroku sighed, wishing desperately his life didn't have to be tangled with such a troubled friend. But then again, Inuyasha was really the only family he had. And along with Inuyasha, came everything else. And everything else wasn't so great.

We whip around toward the entranceway opposite from the food line, and once again we are met by the two early birds that risked punishment to celebrate Kagome's birthday. The two, Shippo and Sango, are dressed in their uniforms, consisting of black wool vests on top of a white button down shirt. Sango wore a black and white pleated skirt, and our dear Shippo wore black slacks.

"Kami, don't they ever try to use softener on our clothes?" The boy complained as he scratched his backside.

"Shippo, you know we can't be picky nowadays…"

"I'm afraid to ask what we're having for breakfast…"

Sango, sounds of slirping and chewing reaching her ears, glanced over to one of the tables where a white haired young man sat, his mouth full of crepes and pastries and his tray full of fruits and toasts with jams along with various types of fruit.

"Well, um, we better get something to eat… or else we won't be able to…" Shippo snickered loudly, drawing attention from the young man, who paused his eating and glared at the two, his amber eyes reminding Sango of unpleasant memories. Sango, eyes wide, took Shippo's hand and began to back away, but only succeeded in backing right into someone…

"Oh, I am terribly sorry, bloody-" the young man stopped mid-sentence, and smirked.

Confused, Sango wondered what was on her-

"GETTOFF ME!" furious, she backhanded the perverted man, only succeeding in making the hentai smile more.

"I'm sorry, we _have_ met before-"

"Oh, I would remember-!"

"Sango… c'mon now, just walk away…"Shippo pulled at his friend's arm, trying to calm her. From previous encounters, he knew that if he didn't try to compose her, she would do some serious damage.

"But, seriously, you're friends with that one girl… Kagome, is it not?" the man smiled more as Sango's face became more puzzled.

"Oh- _her_…" the man at the table mumbled, flecks of food flying out of his mouth.

"She helped me immensely on my literature test."

Sango's eyes turned from puzzled to outright rage.

"So you're the guy she was talking about that tried to-!"

"Now, why would I do that?"

Shippo- his instincts telling him to pull Sango away now- gripped her hand and yanked her away from the two troublesome men, causing a yelp of pain from the girl as he tramped to the food line.

"Shippo, why did you-"

"I don't want my friend to get in serious trouble. You can't teach that guy anything anyway."

Sango closed her eyes and sighed mentally once the two reached the food line. But, within the woman something was happening that only we could see; a deep cooling sensation spread through her body, working through her pumping veins, slowing her stressed heart, and finally slowing her senses; the world came in a sudden blur, scents became more pronounced, and colors more vivid. Afterwards, Sango opened her eyes to the world, visibly relaxed, unaware to the unusual happening. She never questioned it, nor did she pay any attention to this sensation. Shippo, in front of her in line, took little note of the dramatic change.

This will not be the only thing that is odd, my friends, for we have yet to encounter even stranger happenings.

The two got their breakfast, small rations of jelly and toast as well as black tea, as opposed to the white-haired man, and sat at their regular table near the window overlooking the courtyard. Lilacs and lilies wafted toward them, giving the two a more pleasant meal as they became embraced with the golden morning light.

It was only a few weeks until school stopped, letting the students to go home on vacation with family, or for some several unlucky students, to stay at the boarding school in their dormitories. Almost exactly like the workings of an orphanage, Miroku presumed.

Miroku sat at the table across from Inuyasha, who was almost done with his food and was obviously starting to tire. The dark-haired man reflected on his luck of yet another summer alone at the school with only a handful of other students, the letter from Inuyasha as well as the library keeping his bored soul company for three months. As Miroku thought about the letters from his dear friend across from him- who had just then spilled some tea onto his lap and yet didn't even notice- the contents of the letters never ever contained anything about the white-haired boy's family, or his travels. Mostly it consisted of complaining about the weather, Kikyo, summer reading books, Kikyo, kendo, his half-brother, Kikyo…

For some odd reason, Miroku became very interested about where his friend went, and about his family. He had known Inuyasha for about six years, and now that he thought about it, it was as if he and him were strangers.

"Inuyasha…"

His face was now buried in his oatmeal, spoon readily forgotten.

"Inuyasha." Miroku said firmly.

Amber eyes snapped up from his food.

"I am busy."

"Friend, it will not take any of your time; it's just a simple question."

An eyebrow quirked.

Miroku cleared his throat. By Kami it was only a question, but why did he fear asking him it? Why did it feel like some unknown source was muting his voice?

"What… cough are your plans this summer?" He exclaimed innocently.

Both eyebrows disappeared into his tangled bangs, and Inuyasha straightened his posture as he reached for a napkin to wipe his speckled face.

"Well… I… uh…"

"It's just a question Inuyasha, I'm not asking you to kill anyone…"

Instantly, Inuyasha froze.

"I haveta get my schoolbooks, seeyalatergoodbye." He stood up quickly and left the room in a hurry, leaving his trash and tray on the floor.

Miroku blinked.

'What just happened there?'

Author's notes:

sorry about the delayed update, for some reason I can't log onto single spark, and I cant update it there, so my fanfic friends on fanfiction, you will be the only ones to see this new chapter! you feel special? ALAS, WE DO.. LIKO MEEKO!

I really didn't like this chapter and how it worked out, but basically this is just a bit of a filler for foreshadowing, I can't just tell you guys things later in the story and you be all like: 'wtf, where, why, HOW?'

About the medallion, that will be explained later, as well the dreams, Inuyasha's family (oh, that's going to be VERY interesting, believe me, and very orginal), as well as all that other crap going on… and im sorry about how slow this story is going, but that's just how I write, I prefer stories that start out slow, so I can get to know the characters and all that jazzy stuff. I got an email asking if I will include a lemon in here. It won't be on in fanfiction, but on single spark it shall. But believe me, this wont happen until later, where all that tragic stuff happens and all the war and ….muhahahahahaha so EVIL!

Read, review, SPEW! (omg harry potter is coming out in 10 days, how much of a dork am i?)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: broken walls

Disclaimer: yeah, well… inuyasha wasn't my type anyway.

AN: quite a hard chapter to put out. I had to do some research on the war, which took longer than I thought due to the timing I'm trying to work with (may 1941), as well as the fact that personal stories about the Holocaust aren't exactly easy to find, let alone the found story to be accurate. So yes, Souta shall be based on this man named Mr. John Vink- also, he will soon be 15 years old, 2 years Kagome's junior. Enjoi

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

_Souta,_

_Well, I know it's been some time since I've written to you, and frankly, I feel very bad about it. And I should too- I've been studying for finals the past month, and yet I still know that I won't be able to pass Calculus anyway (which I'll have to take over summer school it seems) I've been trying to avoid the newspapers, but thinking of you and mother and grandpa I always have to skim through looking for anything about Utrecht, Holland with a knot in my stomach. _

_How are you? I know it's quite early in the letter to say this, but this letter is going to be different anyway, in the sense that I think it's time you know certain things, little brother. You are- what 14? - And you are in charge now of taking care of mother and grandpa. _

_You never knew why I left to go to London to go to Providence Boarding, did you? I bet the only things you remember on May 10th were the candles on my birthday cake, and then the thunderous booms in the sky, possibly you heard the fight I had with Mother. No wonder you haven't been returning my letters, I'd be ignoring me too. If that makes sense. Mother probably never told you this after I left- so here it is: my take on the reason why we left the shrine in Japan to go to Holland for a while, the answer to what had happened on May 10th last year, and why I had left you… to go to London._

_Japan wasn't doing so good the past few years, especially while we lived in the shrine there. The military almost had complete control of the government, and we were still feeling the after affects of the depression, but something happened one day at the shrine. I know you were with Grandpa in the back garden looking for snakes and other boyish stuff while I was helping mother sweep the kitchen floor, when this man came to our door. Mother told me to stay in the kitchen, and if she yelled, to get you and grandpa to hide behind the drawer chest in the little hidden nook within her room. She looked so frightened, and I was curious to why she would warn me, so I sneaked toward the door to hear the hushed whispers. It sounded like this man was trying to warn her of someone, like this person found where we were, and up to this day I still don't understand what had happened. She came back to the kitchen all pale, and said with an uneasy smile, "would you like to take a trip?" then that's when we left to go to Utrecht in Holland. I don't honestly know what happened, or what made mother so petrified to move out of the country. I hope you believe me. _

_Of course, you loved Holland; with its rainy days… you always loved rain. I swear when you were born you were meant to be near water, to swim in it like a fish. I never liked it, I never could Souta. Mother already had it planned that I was to go to a boarding school in London at the beginning of September, because she thought "I should expand my education in literature." _

_But anyway, I guess you'll never forget my birthday that year. We never will. The war came knocking at our door- and it gave all of us a rude awakening, didn't it? You were sent to sleep underneath the stairs with Grandpa; I can remember your frightened eyes when Mother told you that I and she would be sleeping under the wooden table in the kitchen while the bombs dropped. _

_We had a terrible fight that night. I didn't want to leave to go to London that month- I wanted to have that last summer with you. She kept on saying that it was safer in England, and that my education called for it, as well as the fact that Shippo and Sango would be leaving too. To wait until September when the school started would be unnecessary. But I told her to promise me one thing- to never let you get out of school, for anything at all- if you ever EVER tried to get into the army while I was in college, I told her I would drop out and search for you. And I will._

_That would certainly be a waste… hahaha._

_Will you stop avoiding answering my letters to you? I'm so worried about you guys there, every single day I look at the news and listen to the radio- the things the radio is telling us over here about what they are doing to the Jewish in Germany frightens me. Please don't ignore me, I miss you…_

Souta noted the smudges of ink at this point; the letter had tiny drops upon the page, crinkling it slightly. He felt instantly guilty.

… _and the dreams I have aren't helping me any. So Souta, my little brother, will you please answer this letter? I've answered all of the questions over the past couple of years to the best I could, and I hope you'll forgive me for trying to cover certain things from you in the past. I swear I don't know what happened that day in the shrine, or why we had to move. I can understand why you're upset, even at me, because of my dishonesty. But you have to comprehend that merely I was trying to make things a little more easier for you, and no matter what you say, you need that during this war. That naïve hint that I treasure so much about you._

_Dear Kami, I miss you so much. I hope you still have that collection of rollie pollies in the box of yours underneath your bed…_

Souta smiled, and wiped his cheek.

… _maybe when its all over, we can bury it with the things that has happened to us during this time. Then we can move on._

_Aijou,_

_Kagome_

It was his sister's birthday today, and he thought she deserved a long letter indeed.

"Souta… please read paragraph twelve to thirteen for me please." Miss Poloma said in her thick Dutch and with a soft regretful tone.

With great gentleness he hid the letter in the back of his history book, and stood up from his seat, cradling the new book in his arms. Mein Kampf it was called and Souta hated it- with all his heart. The author's name on the cover stuck out like a dagger, waiting to pierce whoever saw fit to criticize. He opened his cracked lips, one again voicing another lie to the class.

"_The Germans were the higher race, destined for a glorious evolutionary future. For this reason it was essential that the Jews should be segregated, otherwise mixed marriages would take place. Were this to happen, all nature's efforts to establish an evolutionary higher stage of being may thus be rendered futile…" _the boy paused in his reading, his face a display of turmoil. He knew his sister would be screaming right now, at his shame to speak out, his utter need to remain a witness to what had been happening to his neighbors, his friends. He looked up from his book and looked around the room, seeing the many blondes among his classmates, but four dark haired students stuck out. He knew what they were as they glazed down at their book that despised their beliefs and race.

"Miss Onama…" The teacher looked up from her desk.

"Do you not feel well Souta?"

"No… I-I don't," he cleared his throat, and took a deep breath. "I ne-never thought you ha-had the heart to teach this class lies."

The students whipped around in their seats to stare at the usually quiet boy near the back of the class. Some looked onward with nervousness, some with agreement, and yet, there were still few who glared at him with absolute hatred. At the front of the class the young woman looked at the black haired boy with fright and stood slowly,

"Souta, it is not wise-"

"What… are you a Jew lover now?" a blonde boy smirked distastefully at him, his blue-grey eyes flashing such… revulsion.

In the wobbly old desk next to Souta, his friend looked upward at him with sorrow, her dark eyes and skin amazingly pale.

"Souta… shh…"

The boy regarded the girl next to him. He didn't think this right- the fact that the Germans in Utrecht were forcing the schools to read one passage a day from the book written by… that devil. As if everything within the confines of the book was true and founded on fact. Is this how education was built upon- falsehood and deductions?

He glanced around the room of different faces and ethics, but still didn't understand the prejudice against such people. They were just the same as any one of these blonde, except for their dark features.

"Miss Onawa, your name means 'wide awake' in Cheyenne?" he addressed the teacher, the entire class's attention upon him, making his neck prickle in nervousness, but with a new found courage.

"Yes, Souta it indeed does." Her face relaxing now that the subject had changed. She wasn't exactly comfortable each time the students read the new book for an hour each day; if anything, she wanted to burn the thing. Each day she came home after cleaning the schoolhouse she was tempted, but then again the guard in front of her house made her anxious, his deep blue eyes silencing her defiance as she entered her door.

"I don't think you're wide awake now." He muttered to himself as he glanced down at his hands, now snapping the book shut, causing few of the classmates to jump in their seats.

"Souta, please take your place. If you are… not feeling well… you may go on home." Miss Onawa said softly, her eyes in deep remorse for the boy, ashamed of her own weak will to question the new procedure for all schools in and near Utrecht.

"Miss Onawa, I am not feeling very well either." The dark curly haired girl seated next to Souta whispered. Her voice seemed very horse, and her dark features made her skin appear very pale.

"Yes- Souta, will you escort Miss Josephe home?"

Souta bowed, gathered his things around his table, and with reluctance, took the cursed book and shoved it in his burlap bag. The silence of the room and the feeling of so many eyes on his figure made him want to scream at their ignorance, made him want to rip the new book to shred in front of them and wave it at the guard outside the school doors.

The girl, meanwhile, merely took only a little notebook with pencils, walked down to the door silently, wanting to disappear in the thin fragrant air around her, and exited before Souta could reach her.

He reached the doorknob, and looked back at the class, still obviously in shock. The air in the large open room was clouded with emotions, and Souta was gratefully happy to be out of the tension. As soon as he shut the door, he heard the class in erupt in upheaval, the teacher's calming voice.

The boy turned from the entrance as he exhaled thankfully readjusting his burlap bag on his shoulder, only to focus upon a bright eyed young man staring at him quite unpleasantly. He was in German uniform.

"Sie entschuldigten frühes wie der Jude?"

The scent of whiskey and bad cigarette invaded his nostrils.

Souta shut his eyes and translated the harsh German words nervously in his head, trying to stoke down the fire of anger welling up inside of him.

_You excused early like the Jew?_

He opened his eyes and glared at the officer, nodding.

"Ich soll ihr Haus außerdem eskortieren," _I am to escort her home as well_ he said, the fire lessening somewhat. "Ich hoffe, daß es nicht Verbrechen in dem gibt"

_I hope there is not crime in that._

The Gestapo glared precariously and began to walk toward him, his aroma of filth reminding Souta of dying mockingbirds, decaying flesh…

"Souta!" The girl coughed forcefully, causing the officer to look behind him. The guard momentarily distracted, he bounced off the steps of the schoolhouse and caught up with the coughing girl.

As soon as he reached her side, breathing heavily and thankful his mouth didn't get him into anymore trouble, she began to walk fast down the dirt road, her ratty shoes getting caught in her long dirty dress.

"Souta, I wish you didn't do that…" she said forcefully, causing her to cough once more, her speed lessening somewhat. Her scent of pastries and fresh cooked bread seemed to be of lesser degree this day, Souta noted, as well as her decaying health.

"But-" Souta jogged to keep up with her. "…Luyu, wait up…"

"Don't.." she stopped dead in her tracks and whirled around to glare at Souta. "..call me that. It's dangerous and you know that."

"I thought…" he huffed "it's your name, and no one's around and I thought-"

"Not anymore! It's Anna-Marie! Anyone heard that and my family's business would be in danger! Don't you know that they're starting to paint the Star of David on Jewish shops? No you don't! You wouldn't understa-" the girl began at this point to cough unmercifully, her pale face turned beat red as she bent over, her hand covering her mouth. Souta looked upon his friend- new to the town for three months- and began to feel hopeless as he put his arm around her and began to guide her toward the east side of town.

"I don't…" she breathed heavily inward as she shrugged Souta's arm off. "Need your help."

Souta grabbed the hand that was covering her mouth, and saw with surprise the red liquid speckled upon her palm. She looked down at her dusty shoes, avoiding his gaze, knowing full well what had never been spoken yet these few months she had known him would escape from his mouth.

"If I don't help you, who will?" he whispered.

The girl gazed up into his dark brown eyes, its swirling depths reminding her of the candies Souta's grandfather gave her.

"I'm… very sorry. It's… just that I'm-"

"I'm scared too."

"You're scared! After what you did in class?"

"Yes, but you have to remember that being afraid of something doesn't necessarily mean you can't fight it." He smiled, his eyes giving an intelligent gleam. "Will you help me?"

Luyu stared at her friend in question, her thin brows furrowed over her dark large pretty eyes. "You mean…?"

"Many countries have started doing it, and I think it's time the Dutch should create one as well."

"But…" she whispered dreadfully "… people could get caught, people could die!"

"If this little step could help hundreds of others, I think my life is well worth it."

Alas audience, do you feel that? It is the trembling of an already **cracked wall**.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

MUAHAHA! I hope that maybe some of you got my hint, at least has a hunch about what Souta may do. Hehehe

Anyway, if this chapter was somewhat confusing to you, PLEEEESE email me and tell me, I don't want to look like more the idiot that I am.

And pleeese review and rate, im not sure if this story is going as well in the beginning as I planned.

Read, review, do-zee-dew.

**revelinaeia**: hows the life?  
**Grumpalumpa 00**: at the moment bad  
**revelinaeia**: oh dear, why?  
**Grumpalumpa 00**: ah nm it just passed, im doing great now. had bit of a digestive problem for a sec


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